Chattanooga cannot ban or tax single-use plastic shopping bags. Tennessee Code 68-211-1101 preempts local restrictions on auxiliary containers, including bags, cups, bottles, and food packaging. Voluntary retailer programs are the only available approach citywide.
Tennessee enacted TCA 68-211-1101 to bar local governments from regulating auxiliary containers, defined broadly to include plastic bags, paper bags, cups, bottles, and other packaging. As a result, Chattanooga is preempted from adopting a plastic-bag ban, a fee, or a mandatory paper alternative. Retailers may voluntarily switch to reusable or paper bags, and the city can run educational anti-litter campaigns, but there is no enforceable single-use bag ordinance. Litter from bags is addressed only through general litter and illegal-dumping rules, not through a container ban.
There is no Chattanooga plastic-bag violation. Bag-related litter is enforced under general state and local litter laws (TCA 39-14-502), with fines and community service for offenders.
See how Chattanooga's plastic bag rules rules stack up against other locations.
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